Blackburn announce Murphy exit

Neymar has admitted even he did not expect such a dominant performance from Brazil in the Confederations Cup final against Spain.

The veteran midfielder dropped down to the second tier of English football last June when he moved to Ewood Park from Fulham.

Murphy’s arrival was initially hailed as something of a transfer coup as Blackburn looked to make an immediate return to the Premier League.

However, a season of turmoil followed relegation as the club parted company with three permanent managers - Steve Kean, Henning Berg and Michael Appleton - while former Liverpool man Murphy was also stripped of the captaincy.

Blackburn avoided back-to-back relegations by a four-point margin and new manager Gary Bowyer, who was promoted from reserve-team boss in May, is overseeing a number of changes, including offloading the likes of Nuno Gomes and Murphy.